Track: Supply Chain Management

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a systematic literature review examining supply chain risk management (SCRM) and resilience in healthcare supply chains. The review used thematic analysis (manually constructed themes with the help of each article's highlights to identify shared insights and trends across the literature.)to identify trends and gaps within the existing literature. The findings reveal three critical research gaps in the literature. Firstly, there needs to be more research on rural healthcare supply chains despite ample studies on innovations and data sharing for enhancing supply chain resilience. This underscores a research gap in understanding the unique challenges rural healthcare settings face. Secondly, the potential of A.I. algorithm-based systems in enhancing supply chain resilience in healthcare remains underexplored, indicating a need to explore the role of A.I. in healthcare supply chains. Finally, integrating supply chain management with Lean Six Sigma practices for enhancing supply chain resilience requires more research for broader industry applications despite its theoretical importance. The study also identified vital thematic areas crucial to enhancing supply chain resilience in healthcare settings, such as technology, innovation, data sharing, Lean Six Sigma, supply chain management, and A.I. algorithm-based systems. Identifying these themes provides a foundation for future research and practical implications for healthcare organizations to adapt to unexpected disruptions and improve their supply chain resilience.